'This Is Anfield' sign fetches £115k at auction

Image caption, Former Liverpool player George Scott said Shankly wanted any opposition player passing the sign to know they were "going into a cauldron"The original "This Is Anfield" sign from Liverpool's stadium tunnel has fetched £115,000 under the hammer.It sold for almost eight times the estimated guide price of £15,000, auctioneer Budds said. The words famously hang above the passage to the pitch and Reds players traditionally touch the sign before matches as they pass. Legendary manager Bill Shankly chose them in 1972 after rejecting "Welcome To Anfield" as too friendly.The original sign was removed in the 1970s and given to Ronald Wilson, a former member of the club's boys' team, whose family displayed it in an Isle of Man hotel for more than 20 years - until now.'Beyond the exceptional'David Convery, head of sporting memorabilia at Budds, said the sign and sale "made for a very memorable auction".He added: "All sports memorabilia is imbued with some of the magic of the game and its players."But the Anfield sign and the superstition surrounding it added something that went beyond the exceptional."While the winning bid stood at £115,000, the final total reached £149,500 including commission and VAT.Budds said it was "a record price" for any UK sports stadium interior sign.The auctioneer said famous players including Alan Hansen, Kenny Dalglish and Frank McGarvey had been pictured with the sign after joining Liverpool between 1977 and 1979.Image caption, The sign fetched almost eight times the guide priceThe feature remained at Anfield during Liverpool's first two European Cup victories, in 1977 and 1978.Budds said a groundsman proposed the original idea for the sign to club secretary Peter Robinson before Shankly suggested the amendment to "This Is Anfield".Shankly said the sign was intended to remind Liverpool players who they represented while acting as a form of intimidation for visiting teams as they walked out into the ground.Former Reds player George Scott said Shankly wanted any opposition player passing beneath the sign to know they were "going into a cauldron and they weren't going to come out with a win".The auction house said former player Roy Evans, who managed the club between 1994 and 1998, gave the sign to Wilson.It was displayed in Wilson's family's Rutland Hotel in Douglas from 1979 until 2000 before passing to his children. The sign was later displayed in his son's office until his retirement in early 2026.The identity of the new owner of the sign is not known.Get in touchTell us which stories we should cover on MerseysideMore on this storyRelated internet links